Stronger Together Than Alone
by Darling Pretty
Summary: A situation at the hospital leaves Addison pretty shaken up. Alex, true to his promise, notices and fixes. Addison/Alex. Oneshot.


**Hey! I wrote this at like midnight. And I'm going to dedicate it to Kate and Gigi, because I'm pretty sure I've managed to make them very, very angry with me after a certain chapter that will not be named. This is really sappy and probably completely out of character, but it was like midnight and I like the images anyway, so there.**

**Based off of the song "Hold On" by Michael Bubl****é****.**

**I own nothing.**

It doesn't take long for everyone in the hospital to know that there is a crazy man running around the hospital with a gun. It takes even less time for everyone to know that he has Dr. Montgomery. By the time it's clear that they're on the roof and that man wants her dead, everyone basically knows everything at the exact same time.

The hospital waits with baited breath as he gives her a choice—jump or be shot. And when SWAT shoots him down, they breathe a collective sigh of relief.

No one is more thankful than, surprisingly, her intern. Once the roof is cleared, he is one of the first to reach her. Her clothes are stained and her hair has blood in it—whether it's hers or her assailant's isn't clear at first glance. Just about every doctor in the hospital examines her, making sure that she's unharmed. She's fine but a little stunned. She answers the police's questions with the regal bearing she is so known for. She gives her statement quietly but effectively. No one can see any effects beyond the obvious scare.

Alex can see her starting to tire, so he waves off the crowd of people. The woman needs to rest, no matter how much she insists she's fine. She looks around and finds Richard. "I'm going to shower," she announces.

Callie, Bailey, Mark, Derek, and Richard all gang up on her, telling her that they don't feel comfortable leaving her alone. She quietly and effectively shuts them down, insisting that she is absolutely fine, she just needs to think, and she can't do that if someone is standing outside the door while she's naked. They give in because they don't want to upset her.

She _is _fine, at least while she feels people's eyes on her. And she's fine while she's getting ready to get into the shower, pulling out a towel and a pair of scrubs for when she gets out. When the water is finally warm enough, she strips off her clothes, determined to burn them afterwards, and steps in. As the water pounds her back, she looks at her skin.

The water running from her hair is tinted red with his blood. Her breath catches into her throat and she stops breathing. She stares for a moment before she starts sobbing. She falls to the ground, unable to calm herself down and unable to support herself.

Five minutes later, she's still crying and it's not stopping any time soon.

"Dr. Montgomery?" Alex calls as he enters the room. Her friends may have promised not to bug her, but he made no such promise, and they're forcing him to check on her. He waits for a response and gets none. "Addison!" When she doesn't answer, he rushes over to the shower and pulls back the curtain. In normal circumstances, she would be pissed. Right now, she doesn't notice.

He stares for just one second, hesitating. Then without thinking, he slips off his shoes, steps into the shower, and wraps his arms around her. Her head falls onto his shoulder and he pulls her close. She's shaking. "Shh, it's okay," he whispers into her hair. "I've got you. It's okay. I've got you."

She starts crying with a renewed vigor, now that there's someone there to see. He's afraid that she's going to start hyperventilating. "Addison," he says. "Addison, look at me." Slowly, she does as he asks. "I need you to calm down, okay? I'm right here; I'm not going to let anything happen to you, I promise. It's okay. I just need you to calm down. I need you to breathe."

She takes a few shaky breaths, but ultimately starts crying again. It's not as violent now, so he just holds her as close as humanly possible. "You're okay," he tells her. "I've got you. You're okay."

Eventually she does calm down. She's practically asleep on his shoulder after the catharsis. He helps her stand up and helps her wash her hair thoroughly, getting any trace of blood out. Then he grabs her towel and dries her off before helping her into her scrubs. He'll probably get hell later for treating her like a child, but right now all he cares about is taking care of her. He grabs a pair of scrubs for himself and changes out of his now soaked clothes. "You need to get some sleep," he pronounces. She nods a little. He couldn't be happier about that reaction if she had tap-danced it in trochaic tetrameter. He'll take any response right now.

When he leads her out of the locker room, he sees everybody watching them and tries to shield her from their gaze. Her friends all look to him and he gives a little shrug. Apparently it's okay for him to be taking care of her.

He gets her comfortable on a bed and goes to turn out the light. She makes a frightened sound and grips at his hand. He gets the hint and climbs into bed with her, wrapping his arm around her waist. "I'm right here," he says in her ear. "I'm not going anywhere."

She falls asleep pretty quickly, considering everything she's been through. Just before she drifts off to sleep, he's ninety-nine percent sure that he hears her whisper, "Thank you."

0ooo0

She's returning to work today after taking a couple of weeks off. She hasn't seen Alex since that day. She's seen everybody else, just not him. He seems to have disappeared off of the face of the earth. She's nervous about running into him, so of course she does. "H-hi," she stammers when it turns out that they're the only ones on the elevator.

"Hey," he replies.

There's a long silence.

"Thank you," she finally says. "For… you know."

"No problem."

"Well, it meant a lot. To me, I mean. I, um, I needed it." Addison Montgomery isn't used to needing anything.

He reaches out and stops the elevator, grimacing a little on the inside at what a McDreamy move it is. "So you're okay?" he asks nervously.

"Yeah, I think so. Still in one piece, I guess, and that's what matters."

More silence.

"I'm glad," he finally says. "That you're okay, I mean."

She stares at him for a moment and tears start rolling down her cheeks. "You're not okay," he accuses her.

She shakes her head slowly. "I don't think I am," she agrees. "And I don't know how to be okay."

He steps forward and gathers her into his arms. "You don't have to be okay," he consoles her. She cries a little harder just because it's okay for her not to be okay. In a completely uncharacteristic move, he presses his lips to her forehead. "I've got you."

She looks up at that and their eyes meet. He starts to wipe the tears away from her face. "I won't let anything happen to you," he promises. "Nobody's going to touch you again."

She sniffs "Promise?" she asks in an insecure, little girl's voice.

"They'll have to go through me first," he says with a grin. He still has her face between his hands and he traces her cheekbone with his thumb.

She leans into his touch. "Thank you, Alex," she whispers. "I don't… I don't know how I'd have gotten through this without you."

"I mean that, Addison. I want…"

He trails off nervously without finishing his sentence. She tilts forward onto her toes and kisses him gently. "That?" she asks.

He grins. "Exactly that." He kisses her again, keeping her in a firm grip. He doesn't plan on letting her go any time soon.

_Hold on to me tight, hold on to me tonight.  
We are stronger here together than we could ever be alone.  
So hold onto me, don't you ever let me go._


End file.
